Gina Hanna, a Central Springs Middle School instructor, is Iowa's 2008 Preserve America Teacher of the Year. (DEB NICKLAY/The Globe Gazette)
Hanna, 52, the Central Springs Middle School instructor who was named Iowa’s 2008 Preserve America History Teacher of the Year, “is a history geek ... who has traveled to every obscure Civil War battlefield there is,” she said with a chuckle.
She parlayed that love of the past into a 31-year teaching career which she also loves, she said.
“My joy is to watch a student who says they don’t like social studies or history and see them light up and participate,” said Hanna.
Hanna grew up in Colesburg. Her dad, the late Virgil Brockmeyer, was her lightning rod, sparking her interest during many summer trips to historical sites.
“I learned from him that history is about human beings and not dates. To this day, my students don’t memorize dates. They learn about people,” she said, affectionately referring to historical figures as “the dead guys.”
Over the years, she has taught history at different levels and is licensed to teach students up through ninth grade. Today, she teaches talented and gifted classes in addition to a history class.
“She taught in such creative ways,” said Chloe Arndt, 18, a senior at Central Springs High School, who had Hanna in both fifth and ninth grades. “She made us work, but made us want to learn.” Arndt said Hanna inspired her to plan a teaching career.
Fellow senior Jordan Westphal, also 18, told how students performed history-based skits as part of Hanna’s classes.
“One time, Chloe and I were medics in a war zone; another time, we were immigrants on Ellis Island,” he said.
“Gina has this wonderful ability to make history come alive,” said Lynn Baldus, middle school principal, who nominated her for the award. “She uses so many approaches, so many things” that impact student learning.
“My classes are hands-on; I use simulation, I use games. I mix lecture and video,” Hanna said.
“I fell in love with American History because of her,” said Ryan Stiles, today a sophomore, who says Hanna instilled in him a desire to be an American history teacher.
“I am very interested in the Civil War time period and that was her definite forte. She could tell you every single detail of every single battle, commander, town and event.”
Making history relevant is important, she said.
“These are the gifts for our kids,” she said. “If you can’t look back, you can’t learn.”
Like her dad, she has taken her own children, Alex, now 23, a history teaching major, and daughter Lauren, 15, on multiple summer trips, to Washington D.C., to Boston and, of course, to her favorite Civil War sites. The Civil War era is her personal favorite.
“I tell my students to value history; we wouldn’t be here without it. I tell them, ‘You never know when those dead guys are going to pop up.’ ”
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